Questioning authority
5th September 2011 · 0 Comments
By Edmund W. Lewis
Editor
In the midst of events marking the unveiling of the MLK Memorial, and the commemoration of Hurricane Katrina and September 11, there are many discussions taking place across this city, state and nation about justice, democracy and liberation. While some of these questions may be difficult or uncomfortable, it is important that those who are serious about helping this nation to “become a more perfect union” push forward and hold leaders and elected officials accountable for their words, actions and decisions. The first step is to summon the courage and clarity to ask the right questions whether the answers are obvious or obscure. As citizens of a free republic whose constitution guarantees us freedom of expression, we must constantly challenge the status quo and challenge those who still think they can get away with the age-old crime of taxation without representation.
With that in mind, let’s ask some questions:
• Why do cops want to work as law enforcement officers in cities where they never want to be tried in a court of law if they are accused of violating the constitutional rights of tax-paying residents who actually live there and pay their salaries?
• Is anyone shedding any tears for New Jersey GOP lawmaker Pat Delany, who stepped down recently after his wife sent out an email to the Democratic state Senate campaign of former Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis that read “Imagine having dark skin and name recognition and the nerve to think that equalled knowing something about politics”?
• As we paused last week to remember and honor the lives lost six years ago during the Great Flood, what are you doing to ensure that what happened to Henry Glover, Ronald Madison, James Brissette Jr. and all the others who were the ultimate victims of excessive force at the hands of the NOPD?
• Is anyone surprised by a recent AP/GfK poll that says 87 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing?
• What if St. Augustine High School’s alumni, board of directors and supporters decided to secede completely from the union the school formed with the Josephites 60 years ago and convinced its many successful former students to contribute funds for the creation of an independent, African-centered educational institution that honored St. Aug’s legacy, traditions and commitment to excellence?
• Why do so few elected officials, Black or white, want to speak publicly about the 1811 Slave Revolt?
• Did New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu retain Public Works Director Robert Mendoza because he did such a bang-up job for the previous administration?
• How many people who are aware of the New Orleans Police Department’s past and present shortcomings and the mayor’s refusal to find a new police chief WON’T hold it against hizzoner come election time?
• Don’t you miss former New Orleans Police Superintendent Richard Pennington an awful lot?
• How many local elected officials will listen to “Treme” creator and former Baltimore Sun journalist David Simon, who knows all too well from his experiences in Baltimore how New Orleans’ lofty plans for a new, state-of-the-art hospital and biomedical district can very easily go up in smoke?
• What do you think parents of children who aren’t “cherry-picked” to attend one of the city’s charter schools think about the highly touted success of the so-called charter school movement?
• How many more scandals involving financial wrongdoing, sexual misconduct, bribery or cheating have to take place before residents understand that charter schools aren’t the cure-all for all that ails the city’s public education system?
• Why are people who have not lived here very long and have no children enrolled in the city’s public school being allowed to get away with making decisions that will impact New Orleans families, schools and communities for decades to come?
• After Hurricane Irene and the destruction it brought to states along the Atlantic seaboard, how many congressmen from the northeastern United States will change or at least reconsider the way they think and vote about funding for flood protection and disaster recovery assistance?
• What do all those people from the northeastern United States who criticized and ridiculed New Orleans residents for failing to evacuate the city before Hurricane Katrina struck and found themselves depending on the government for post-hurricane assistance now have to say for themselves?
• After Hurricane Irene, how many Republicans and Christian conservatives who live in states along the Atlantic seaboard might be willing to reconsider their beliefs about global warming being a mythological creation of those on the Far Left?
• In the immortal words of Bob Marley, “How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?”
This article was originally published in the September 5, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
